Answers like yours are so far out in left field that they sound funny. Heat Mirror unlike triple pane or low-e, was named one of the greatest inventions of the last 100 years. Also Heat Mirror does not distort your view or wrinkle, those are comments of a person who can't get the product and wish they could.

Unlike Hipkat or probably you, I was around when Heat Mirror was originally developed and was one of the first salesmen to ever sell it. I did so with much passion and touted the benefits and longevity of the product endlessly.
I worked for NuSash at the time and they were the only replacement window to have it. We also sold Hurd which was the wood window with it back in the beginning.

I can not express how dissapointed I was (and am) in the longevity of Heat Mirror. Almost every job I've been back to from back in the 80's has at least some windows with Heat Mirror that are wrinkled, torn, and/or discolored.

Have they improved something since then? I really don't know nor do I care. They made me into an unsuspecting liar to my customers because it didn't last for a lifetime like I was led to believe.
I do know one thing. Real glass with a great spacer will last a lifetime.

In addition to windows, I also install an all glass sunroom made by a manufacturer that used to use Heat Mirror in their rooms. I've seen and replaced enough failed heat mirror glass units to know that the product won't work long term. Obviously this manufacturer has learned the hard way, since they no longer offer the product.

From a salesmans perspective heat mirror does a great demo with the light kit, and I believe it is an Energy Star rated product -- in the southern climate zones, but not in the north. FenEx or Win4U plz verify this....

I am not sure about all of the Heat Mirror products but I know some are Energy Star rated in all 3 climate zones.

I am also aware of many problems with this product. It was also mentioned by Windowman1 in a previous thread that they have a 50% fuel reduction guaranty and outperform triple-panes. Please post the guaranty and all of it's contingencies and include the maximum liability payout. This guaranty is a sales tactic as I can assure you that no window can achieve that by itself unless every other component of the home was perfect. Oh, and the best performance numbers on the NFRC are held by triple-panes... not Heat Mirror.

<Published responses to the list>
The top 100 inventions list referred to above was one published in Popular Science, as a sidebar to the "Letters" column of the December 1999 issue. The editors compiled a ranking of the most popular suggestions from their readers. Bear in mind that the small sample of readers is highly self-selected. They represent subscribers to a magazine devoted to science and technology news, who have and use personal computers with Internet access and chose to participate. So we're probably looking at the opinions of a tiny band of technogeeks. The skewed sample did not include any technologies related to agriculture, health care, architecture, manufacturing, or energy. Also transportation and general human comfort got only honorable mention. Surely the airplane and air conditioning have substantial impact on our daily lives. To the technogeeks who composed the list, it's probably a heckuva marketing opportunity.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not condemning the product... just the way it's being presented here and in their marketing. I applaud the advances that have been made possible through their efforts.

I have installed only one brand of windows with the heat mirror film and have seen no problems whatsoever. Although most of the jobs have only been in a few years, I have not heard any complaints or problems. Previous customers houses I've returned to still look like day one. But if a glasspack is to ever go bad it would be replaced at no charge. Maybe advances with the product over the last 20 yrs. have fixed problems W4U spoke of. The benefit of the film in my opinion is a much lighter sash that operates a little smoother than a triple pane. Before FenX goes off I'm sure those schuco triple panes glide beautifully, I just like the lighter weight of a double pane with heat shield, and still the window keeping a total u-value of .20 - .24 depending on argon, krypton, combo fill.

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